Lumberjacks rally late, fall in overtime to Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (December 31st) – In a wild offensive shootout, the Muskegon Lumberjacks were unable to hold two separate two-goal leads in the game as the Gamblers took a 5-4 lead late in the third period only to have Muskegon force overtime with a goal with 1:08 left in regulation. However, the Gamblers would strike in overtime to walk away with a 6-5 victory at the Green Bay Resche Center.

Lumberjacks are now 18-10-3 (39 points), second in the Eastern Conference

The Lumberjacks (18-10-3, 39 points) would come out firing offensively with a pair of goals just over a minute from one another that started at the 2:10 mark with Forward Tyler Heinonen's tenth goal of the season on the power play as he tipped teammate Mike Brodzinski's point shot home to make it 1-0 Muskegon (Defenseman Chris Leibinger with the secondary assist on the goal). Shortly after at the 3:18 mark, newcomer Luc Gerdes would fire home his first USHL goal to make it 2-0 Lumberjacks (assisted by Defenseman Ben Storm). However, Green Bay would cut the deficit in half courtesy of the man advantage as they took advantage of a five-on-three power play opportunity as Forward Nick Schmaltz would fire one past Lumberjacks Goaltender Jordan Uhelski (3-3-1) in the slot to make it 2-1 Muskegon at the 7:10 mark (assisted by Defensemen Jordan Gross and Ben Gallacher). Muskegon would strike back late in the first period at the 18:02 mark as Forward Ben Foster would tally his ninth goal of the season off a rebound in front of Gamblers Goaltender Mike Rotolo to make it 3-1 Lumberjacks after one period of play (assisted by Heinonen).

The Gamblers (17-10-3, 37 points) would fight back quickly in the second period with a goal just 57 seconds into the middle frame with a goal by Forward Nicholas Schilkey as he slid one past Uhelski, who was taken out of the play by a hard Gamblers fore check, to make it 3-2 Lumberjacks (assisted by Forward Alex Kile and Gross). Muskegon would regain the two-goal lead at the 11:36 mark with Mason Jobst's fourth goal of the season that went unassisted to make it 4-2 Lumberjacks. Rotolo would be pulled after that goal for Cameron Hackett. The Gamblers would not go away as Schmaltz would tally his second goal of the night from Forwards Grigory Dikushin and Novak to make it 4-3 Lumberjacks after two periods of play.

Early in the third period, the Gamblers would tie the game up at 4-4 just 1:08 into the period as Dikushin slid one past Uhelski's five-hole that was assisted by Novak. The score would remain the same late into the third period as the Gamblers would take their first lead of the night on the power play with 1:51 left from Forward Sheldon Dries as he one-timed a shot home from Schilkey to make it 5-4 Green Bay (seconday assist to Defenseman Brandon Kirk). Muskegon would fight back just 43 seconds later as they would pull Uhelski for the extra attacker and Adam Gilmour would find space in traffic for his twelfth goal of the season from Heinonen to send the game into overtime tied at 5-5.

In the overtime period, Green Bay would take the extra point as they would fire the only two shots of the extra session and tally a goal on that second shot at the 1:59 mark. Schmaltz would rip home a point shot past Uhelski to give him the hat trick and give the Gamblers the 6-5 victory (assisted by Schilkey and Gross). Muskegon outshot Green Bay for the game, 30-28.

Forward Tyler Heinonen led the Lumberjacks offense with three points (one goal and two assists) in the tough loss, while Uhelski stopped 22 of 28 shots. The Gamblers were led offensively by Schmaltz (three goals), Schilkey (one goal and two assists), and Novak (three assists), who each had three assists in the home victory. Gamblers Goaltender Cameron Hackett (3-1-1) would stop ten of eleven shots to earn the win after relieving Rotolo midway through the second period, who allowed four goals on 19 shots.

The Lumberjacks will wrap up their five-game road trip as they will head off to Youngstown to take on the Phantoms for a pair of games this weekend on Friday and Saturday at 7:15 pm, respectively. Tickets are on sale next week after the New Year's holiday for the low price of $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-12 for the next home game on Sunday, January 6th at 5:15 pm against the Des Moines Buccaneers. Fans can also purchase tickets online at www.muskegonlumberjacks.com or by calling (231) 724-JACK (5225).

The Muskegon Lumberjacks are proud members of the United States Hockey League, the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league and the leading producer of NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The Lumberjacks' organization prides itself on developing not just premier hockey talent, but also exceptional young men outside the arena of sports. For more information, visit www.muskegonlumberjacks.com.